The Boston Celtics may have signed Enes Kanter, but they lost Al Horford and Aron Baynes, and with the probable loss of Marcus Morris also on the horizon, it seems safe to say that the Celtics still need frontcourt help.
Enter DeMarcus Cousins, who is reportedly set to meet with Boston, along with the Miami Heat.
With the C's giving their MLE to Kanter, they don't have anything more than the minimum to offer, but with Adrian Wojnarowski reporting on ESPN that there isn't even an MLE deal out there for Cousins, the Celtics' interest adds up.
Here are three reasons why Cousins would be a great gamble for a Boston team that needs some extra beef up front:
3. Rebounding
The Celtics struggled to rebound the basketball this past year, but if they are able to nab Cousins in addition to Kanter, they would go from being one of the most questionable rebounding teams to one of the best.
Obviously, you couldn't play both Cousins and Kanter at the same time, but there would be no dropoff in rebounding when one enters the game for the other, and Cousins' size alone would make things easier for Boston on the glass, as he could simply body up an opposing big.
2. Offensive Versatility
We know that when Cousins is right, he is one of the top offensive bigs in the league.
Well, he may never be “right” again, as he tore his Achilles two seasons ago, and during this past postseason, he tore his quad. He returned and had some moments, but overall, he looked shaky.
Still, during the regular season, Cousins looked better offensively than most other centers in the league even at his current state, and his ability to score inside, hit mid-range jumpers and even spread the floor a bit will help the Celtics' offense.
Not only that, but Cousins is a pretty fine passer and could add an almost Horford-like dimension to Boston in that regard. Of course, it would be on a much less consistent basis and would have a lot more variance, but you get the point.
Also, the C's could pound the ball inside to Cousins and let him take advantage of mismatches, and if a double comes, he can kick the ball back out to the open man.
1. Muscle for Joel Embiid
One of the biggest reasons why the Celtics have had the Philadelphia 76ers' number in recent years is due to the fact that they defended Joel Embiid better than anyone else.
Between Horford's savvy and Baynes' inhuman strength and toughness, Embiid had a very difficult time against Boston and was regularly frustrated by the Celtics' rugged frontline.
The problem is, the Celtics have lost both Horford (to Philadelphia, ironically) and Baynes this summer, and while bringing in the beefy Kanter will help them deal with Embiid, it would be nice if they had another body, as the slender Robert Williams would be in for a really tough matchup against some of the bigger centers.
That's where Cousins comes into play, as he is one of the few players in the league who has the strength to deal with Embiid on the low block and on the boards.
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